The great thing about being a nursery leader at my age is I can try activities out on my grandies first. If they enjoy it, then chances are it's a go.
I can't remember when I've had so much fun in a calling. I go to church, take the sacrament and then go play for 2 hours. Also, there are marshmallows.
I'm passing these nursery lessons on to my girls for FHE, these pics are so they can see the context. Teaching every other week, so will post soon after.
The first hour of nursery is spent playing with toys. Toys which the other leader and I hate. So we bring our own.
And apart from bubbles, books and blocks the children never tire of these:
Putting Q-tips into the holes of a Parmesan container.
Pushing squishy pom poms into little holes.
Lacing cards. Some I made and some I bought at Dollar Tree.
Score.
Flannelboard Stories. They love these. Goldilocks and the 3 bears and Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
Stringing curlers onto pipe cleaners. Seriously, some children become obsessed with these. Just cut up those little spongy pink curlers into about 3's.
Transition for lesson. A couple of reverence reminders. Prayer boy, opens and closes his eyes.
The chapel doors seem to say to me. Doors open,
Shh! Be still.
Found this great little flannelboard visuals from the
Feb 2008 issue of the
Friend. Lehi and Nephi Obey. Printed it out on color printer and backed it with sticky flannel.
Sang the song,
Quickly I'll Obey
When my mother (father) calls me,
Quickly I'll obey.
I want to do just what is best
Each and ev'ry day.
Next a little role play.
Your Mother asks you to help with the laundry. What will you do? Will you obey?
They liked hanging the clothes on the line. Only I used bigger clothes pins than pictured. Cate likes the teeny ones, but she's older.
Now your Mom is asking you to set the table. Will you obey?
They liked setting the table, but they didn't get the utensils in the right place.
Ha. Nearly all of them pretended to eat.
Hey, your Dad asks you to take out the trash. Will you obey? They liked sweeping up the crumpled paper I dumped on the floor.
Snack time follows the lesson and then we usually do a handout/art activity. I let them paint with Q-tips using watercolors. Not too messy if you bring towels.
Play doh with cookie cutters is always a hit, so we did that for a bit.
When we do play doh I usually set out a few plastic animals, too. They like to hide them in the clay.
And then I brought out this:
Yup. They hammered golf tees into pieces of foam using little wooden rolling pins. They loved, loved, loved this. I would have let them hammer away the rest of time but it sounded like a shoemakers workshop. All that
tap, tap, tapping. Next time I'll try covering the golf tees with felt or something.
The last 15 minutes or so we have a little singing time.
Rain is Falling is their fav. I squirt/mist them with a little water bottle on their face if they want or on their hand if they don't.
And because the lesson was on obeying, we used our Stop/Go sign and brought out the stick horses. We sing and gallop until the sign says stop and then we freeze until it says go. Great fun.
And then it's time to go home.
The marshmallows, the play doh, the galloping. I have died and gone to heaven.
